Fastening device for beehives



May 16, 1939. B. L. FLANAGAN FASTENING DEVICE FOR BEEHIVES Filed June19, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l y 6 1939- B. L.IFLANAGAN 2,158,067

FASTENING DEVICE FOR BEEHIVES Filed June 19, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May16, 1939. B. L. FLANAGAN FASTENING DEVICE FOR BEEHIVES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed June 19, 1937 u mum wwmw z g:

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Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFlfiE' FASTENING DEVICE FORBEEHIVES Wellsville, N. Y.

Application June 19, 1937, Serial ,No. 149,222

9 Claims.

My invention relates to beehives and it has for its principal objects--the provision of a frameor rack for beehives to facilitate easy movingof the bees from one location to anotherand for locking or anchoring thebeehive in a desired location to eliminate pilferage.

One of the primary features of the invention consists in providing aframe for the beehive hav ing portions disposed on opposite sides of thelati O ter, one of which is provided with flexible means, such as achain, which is adapted to pass over the beehive and be secured to theother portion of the frame for fastening the hive to the frame.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing the frame withmeans whereby it may be firmly locked to an anchorage.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing the frame withmechanism which serves the dual function of securing the chain 0 or thelike by which the beehive is secured to the frame and of securing theframe to an anchorage.

Other features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms,combinations and relations of i parts, will hereinafter appear and bepointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevationalyiew of a beehive .30 and associatedparts, portions of the hive being shown in section.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the construction illustrated inFigure 1, portions of the hive being shown in section.

35 Figure 3 is a plan view of the frame for the beehive.

Figure 4 is a side elevational View illustrating in operative positionthe chain securing and the locking mechanism.

-40 Figure 51s a front elevational'view of the mechtaken on linelfiili'of Figure 3, showing in dotted :55 lines the tilted position theframe must assume to be connected with or disconnected from theanchorage.

eferring more particularly to the drawings, l indicates the beehivewhich is shown as comprising two superimposed chambers, the lower orbrood chamber being designated by the reference numeral 2 and the upperor food chamber, sometimes used as a super, being designated by thenumeral 3. The hive chambers are provided with a plurality of framesand, except as will here- 10 inafter appear, the hive as a whole is ofusual construction having a bottom board 5 which defines with the frontwall of the hive an entrance 5; a top outer cover i having a sheet metalor other suitable covering 8; and an inner cover 9 which l5 also servesas a bee escape board when removing honey from supers.

The frame for the hive includes two longitudinally extending members I6which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width ofthe hive and on which the hive rests. Members IE3 may advantageously beof angle shape having vertically disposed flanges H and horizontallydisposed flanges 52 projecting inwardly from the upper ends of thevertical flanges. their inner ends, the members iii are rigidlyconnected by a back tie strap l3 which extends upwardly above membersill so as to overlap the outer faces of adjoining portions of the backand sides of the beehive. At their outer ends, members IE3 are connectedby a front tie strap M which is disposed so as to overlap the outer edgeof the bottom board 5. The end portions of the front tie strap extendupwardly in overlapping relation to adjacent portions of the sides ofthe hive and at their upper ends they are respectively formed withinwardly projecting lugs I5 which overlap the front of the hive adjacentits lower corners above the entrance 6. Although the tie straps may besecured to the members It] in any suitable manner, it is preferred toemploy means of such character that they may be readily applied by anyone and yet are not accessible from the outside of the frame. To thisend, nuts 40 are welded to the outer faces of the end portions 5 of thetie straps to receive machine screws 4| passing through openings inmembers l0 and the tie straps registering with the openings in the nuts,the machine screws having slotted heads disposed on the inner sides ofmembers Ill.

Intermediate their ends, members W of the frame are rigidly providedwith upwardly extending arms or portions l6 and l! respectively disposedon opposite sides of the beehive. The lower ends of the arms may beconnected to members ID in any suitable manner, such as by welding, andgussets 3 may be employed to obtain a most rigid connection. The upperend of arm I6 is provided. with a chain or other flexible means [9 whichis adapted to pass over the top of the hive and thence downwardly toadjacent the arm H which is provided with mechanism for firmly grippingthe chain, whereby the hive may be fastened to the frame.

Mechanism with which arm I! is provided for gripping the chain includesa substantially U- shaped bracket 29 which is rigidly secured to theupper end of the arm and is provided with laterally spaced walls orportions 2i respectively formed with aligned elongated slots 22. Movablyconnected to bracket 20 and projecting laterally therefrom is asubstantially U-shaped member 23 having legs 24 and a web 25 defining anopening into which the free end of chain I9 is adapted to be inserted.Member 23 is connected to bracket 29by a pin 29 which extends throughthe elongated slots 22 and it, may be advantageously supported in asubstantially horizontal position by bearing against the upper end ofarm H. To cause member 23 to approach bracket 20 and thus firmly gripthe chain; a lever 21 is pivotally mounted on pin 26 intermediate thelaterally spaced walls of bracket 20. The pivoted end of the lever iseccentrically curved with respect to the pin 2'! and it is adapted tobear against the web 28 of bracket 29 so that upon rotation of the leverin one direction member 23 is caused to grip the chain, and uponrotation of the lever in the opposite direction member 23 will releasethe chain.

-The outer end of lever 21 is offset as indicated at 29 and it isadapted, when member 23 is in chain gripping position, to projectthrough an opening 30 in arm H. To look the lever in this position andthus prevent the beehive being removed from the frame, the outer end ofthe offset portion 29, which projects through opening 39, is providedwith an aperture or the like 3| for receiving any suitable means, such,for example, as a padlock (not shown) which would prevent the offset endof the lever being withdrawn from opening 30.

It will thus be perceived that simple and effective means are providedfor securing the beehive to a frame enabling the hive to be easilytransported from one location to another.

To prevent the bees from escaping from the hive while the latter is intransit, a guard 32 is preferably placed at the entrance 6 of the hive.This guard may be advantageously of box form and, while it may beconveniently made of sheet metal, the front wall thereof is preferablyprovided with a screen 33. At its lower end, the rear wall of the guardbox is provided with an opening which may be approximately coextensivewith the hive entrance and, to permit the guard to be easily applied toand removed from the hive, the lower end of the rear wall of the guardis provided with an inwardly projecting portion 34 which is adapted toextend into the hive entrance. 'This inwardly projecting portion of theguard has a recessed part 35 which is adapted to embrace the lower endportion of the front wall of the hive and it terminates in a downwardlyinclined portion 36. When the guard is applied to the hive, the inclinedportion 36 engages the lower corner of the front wall of the hive, thusdepressing the inwardly projecting portion 34 which will spring upwardlywhen the recessed part 35 thereof is in position to embracingly engagethe lower end of the front wall of the hive and thereby lock the guardin place.-

To permit air to freely circulate through the hive, as the bees arebeing transported from one location to another, a removable screen 31 ispreferably used in place of the usual hive covers '5 and 9. It will thusbe seen that, in addition to providing a convenient frame fortransporting beehives, I have also provided for ample circulation of airthrough the hive, which is essential during long distance or hot weathermoving.

Not only is the frame designed to enable beehives to be convenientlytransported from one location to another, but it has also been designedwith the view of cooperating in such manner with a suitable anchoragethat the hives cannotbe removed therefrom by unauthorized persons. Theanchorage with which the frame is intended to cooperate comprises amember 38 which is adapted to extend transversely beneath the hive frameand is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the upper end of anupright post 39 which is firmly embedded in the ground. Member 38 ispreferably of angle shape having legs 42 and 43, respectively. At oneend of the member, leg 42projects slightly beyond the frame, while leg43 terminates in an upwardly extending flange or lug 44 which is adaptedto be disposed adjacent the inner face of the adjoining member ID of theframe. Lug 44 is rigidly provided with a laterally projecting boss orthe like 45 which may be conveniently in the form of a bolt or pin whichis adapted to extend through an opening 46 in the adjoining member l0upon sid-ewise movement of the frame. It will thus be perceived that,after pin 45 has entered opening 46, it will be impossible to raise theframe vertically with respect to the anchorage.

At its opposite end, member 38 is bent upwardly to provide an arm 4-!which is adapted to be disposed closely adjacent arm I! of the frame.Arm 4! is provided with an opening 48 which, when the frame has beenproperly positioned with respect to the anchorage, registers withopening 39 in arm I! and is thus adapted to receive the outer end of theoffset portion 29 of lever 21. When, therefore, the outer end of thelever has passed through openings 39 and 48 and the padlock or othersecuring means (not shown) has been inserted in the opening 3| in theouter end of the lever, the frame as well as the beehive are firmly andimmovably connected to the anchorage.

If desired, a stand 49 may be provided, in con junction with theanchorage, for supporting the hive frame. The stand may be convenientlyformed of wood and be of generally rectangular shape, although the wallof the stand adjacent the front of the hive may advantageously inclinedownwardly from adjacent the bottom board 5. The stand is preferably ofsuch size that the horizontal flanges l2 of the frame members ID willrest upon the upper edges of the sidewalls of the stand, while thevertical flanges ll of the result in member 23 releasing the chain.After the lever has been disengaged from arm 4-! of the anchorage and itbeing temporarily maintained in a position such that member 23 willstill be in gripping engagement with the'chain, the frame together withthe beehive is tilted, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 10, topermit the de pending leg of the frame member I'D adjacent arm 41 toclear the upper edge of the hive stand. The frame and hive are thenshifted sidewise to disengage the frame from pin45. Upon accomplishingthis or at any time after the frame has been moved sufliciently to;cause the offset end of lever '2'! to -be clearof arm 41 of theanchorage, the lever is again rotated to cause its ofiset end to passthrough opening 30 in arm I1 and the padlock is reapplied. The hive andframe are thus in condition to be transported to a new location.

Although I have described the preferred embodiment of the invention,various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilledin the art and I do not wish to be limited to precise details, the scopeand extent of my invention being defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A beehive locking and anchoring device, said device including asupporting frame for the beehive by which it may be transported from onelocation to another, said frame having portions adapted to berespectively disposed on opposite sides of the beehive, means adapted topass over the top of the beehive and to be secured to one of saidportions for fastening the beehive to the frame, mechanism mounted onsaid iast named portion of said frame for securing said means thereto,and a ground connected member with which said frame and beehive areadapted to be connected, said mechanism having a movable member providedwith a portion cooperable with said ground connected member forremovably connecting the beehive and frame to the ground connectedmember.

2. A locking and anchoring device for a beehive, said device including asupporting frame for the beehive by which it may be transported from onelocation to another, said frame having arms extending upwardly onopposite sides of the beehive, means secured to one of said arms andadapted to pass over the top of the beehive for connection to the otherof said arms for fastening the beehive to the frame, mechanism mountedon said last named .arm for connecting said means thereto, and a groundconnected member with which said frame and beehive are adapted to beconn cted, said mechanism having a movable member cooperable with saidground connected member for removably connecting the beehive and frameto the ground connected memher.

3. A locking and anchoring device for a beehive, said device includingmeans connected to the ground, a frame having portions disposed adjacentthe opposite sides of the beehive, flexible means connected to one ofsaid portions and adapted to be secured to the other of said portionsfor connecting the beehive to the frame, .and mechanism mounted on saidlast-named portion for securing the flexible means thereto, said groundconnected means and said frame having interlocking portions and saidmechanism having a movable member adapted to be secured to said groundconnected means.

4. A locking and anchoring device for .a beehive, said device includinga frame having arms adapted to be disposed on opposite sides of thebeehive, flexible means connected to -ne-of said arms and adapted to besecured to the other for connecting the beehive to the frame, meansconnected to the ground affording an anchorage for the frame, said meanshaving an upwardly extending portion disposed adjacent said lastnamedarm of the frame and also having a portion adapted to have interlockingengagement with the frame, and mechanism mounted on said last-named armfor securing the flexible means thereto, said mechanism having a movablemember adapted to'be connected to the upwardly extending portion of theground connected means.

5. A locking and anchoring device for a beehive, said device including aframe having arms adapted to be disposed on opposite sides of thebeehive, flexible means connected to one of said arms and adapted to besecured to the other of said arms for connecting the beehive to theframe, a member connected to the ground provided at one end with anupwardly extending portion disposed adjacent said last-named arm andprovided adjacent its other end with means having interlockingengagement with the frame, and mechanism mounted on said last-named armfor securing the flexible means thereto, said mechanism having a movableelement cooperable with said upwardly extending portion for locking theground connected member and frame together.

6. In combination with a beehive having a plurality of superimposedchambers, means for securing said chambers together, said meansincluding a frame having arms respectively extending upwardly onopposite sides of the bottom chamber, flexible means connected to one ofsaid arms and adapted to be secured to the other of said arms forconnecting the beehive to the frame, and a device mounted on saidlast-named arm for connecting the flexible means thereto, said deviceincluding a movable lever and means operable by the lever adapted toengage any selected portion of the flexible means for immovably clampingthe latter with respect to said last named arm, and said lever having aportion adapted to receive means for looking it against movementpermitting release of the flexible means.

'7. In combination with a beehive having a plui one of said portions andadapted to be secured to the other of said portions for connecting thebeehive to the frame, and a device mounted on said last-named portionfor securing the flexible means thereto, said device involving a movablemember for gripping any selected portion of the flexible means, and alever for actuating the movable member, said frame being provided withspaced portions between which the outer end of the lever projects whensaid movablemember is in gripping relation with the flexible means andsaid outer end of the lever being formed to receive means for lockingthe lever to the frame.

8. In combination with a beehive having a plurality of superimposedchambers, means for securing said chambers together, said meansincluding a frame having portions disposed on opposite sides of thebeehive, flexible means connected to one of said portions and adapted tobe secured to'the other of said portions for conmeeting the beehive tothe frame, and a device mounted on said last-named portion for securinga the flexible means thereto, said device involving a bracket having aslot, a member movable transversely of the bracket adapted to grip theflexible means, said member having a pin disposed within said slot, anda lever pivotally mounted on said pin for actuating said member.

9. In combination with a beehive having a plurality of superimposedchambers, means for securing said chambers together, said meansincluding a frame disposed beneath the bottom chamber, arms rigid withsaid frame and respectively projecting upwardly therefrom on oppositesides

